Read The Wish for Free Online Page A

Nina, and BeeBee had almost identical nightgowns—T-shirts that went nearly to their ankles. I had pajamas. The bottoms had an elastic waistband. The top had red-plastic heart-shaped buttons. The print was red hearts pierced by black arrows on a yellow background. If the spell hadn’t been protecting me, the three of them would probably have thrown me out a window.
    Ardis and BeeBee stared, but Nina—of course—spoke. “I know,” she said, getting into her sleeping bag. “They’re your lucky pajamas.”
    â€œWhat did I say, Bernice Beryl?” BeeBee’s mother called from downstairs. “Turn those lights out.”
    â€œOkay, Mom.” BeeBee crossed the loft. She turned out the lights, and the skyline twinkled at us again. We heard the door close downstairs.
    It was quiet for only a second. Then BeeBee said, “Guess what.”
    Nina reached over and touched my arm outside my sleeping bag. “Shh,” she said.
    â€œCut it out, guys,” BeeBee said. “They always do this to me, Wilma. I say, ‘Guess what,’ and they won’t say ‘What?’ They just wait for me to tell them anyway, which I always do, but it takes the fun out of it.”
    Now they were ganging up on BeeBee. I wondered if they ever ganged up on Nina.
    â€œWe’re breaking you of a bad habit,” Nina said.
    â€œWhat?” I said to BeeBee. I didn’t want to be part of it.
    â€œThanks,” BeeBee said. “You’re a pal.”
    â€œSpoilsport,” Nina said.
    â€œCourageous,” Ardis said.
    Did she mean the compliment? Aside from the spell?
    Ardis went on, “We should all stand up to you once in a while, Nina.”
    â€œOh yeah?” But she didn’t sound mad.
    â€œAnyway, what?” I asked.
    â€œStephanie called me. She’s back for a few days, visiting her grandmother. Her school . . .”
    I stopped listening. The Stephanie they were talking about, Stephanie Hartman, had moved away last December. She had been friends with BeeBee and Nina and Ardis, but I hardly knew her.
    â€œCan you come, Wilma?” BeeBee said.
    â€œWhere? Sorry.”
    â€œCounting Grad Night dates?” Nina said. “Listen up. We’re going blading with Stephanie tomorrow. Can you come?”
    â€œI don’t have skates.” And I didn’t know how to skate. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. But I wanted to go too.
    â€œNo problem,” BeeBee said. “You can rent.”
    I didn’t say anything.
    â€œOh, Lord,” Nina said. “We’ll teach you how to skate.”
    â€œOkay, I’ll come.” It would be fun, with the three of them for teachers.
    They started talking about Stephanie again. I stared up at the faraway ceiling. A wave of homesickness washed over me, taking me by surprise. Wasn’t I having a wonderful time?
    I missed Reggie. He made me too hot and he shook the bed with his panting, but I missed him. I made a fist around the heart locket I always wore. Inside on the left was a tiny picture of Mom, and on the right was one of Reggie.
    I wondered what would have happened tonight if I had been here without the spell. Would they have liked me? I hadn’t done anything special, except bring a dog to a sleepover and let him pee on a statue.
    If Suzanne had given the old lady her seat (which was hard to imagine), and she had been made popular, she would have been here instead of me. And they would be inviting her skating and liking her exactly as much as they liked me—and she was one of the least likable people on earth.
    That made me feel funny. The person in this sleeping bag happened to be me, but it could have been anybody.
    But if it had been Suzanne, they would have spent the whole night saying nasty things about kids at Claverford, including nasty things about “beloved Wilma.” That would have been the kind of night Suzanne would have wanted.
    I was